News

Report highlights racism in Wales’s secondary schools

Published

2 years ago

November 30, 2023

A REPORT from the Children’s Commissioner for Wales claims that pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are the target of racist abuse in Welsh secondary schools.

The report, published on Tuesday, November 28, says minority ethnic children and young people from across Wales experience racism in many ways. According to the report’s authors, those ways range from microaggressions to verbal and physical abuse.

The report claims those experiences are almost commonplace in schools.

The report also states that many incidents remain unreported as the youngsters targeted by abuse don’t want to be seen as “grasses”. If labelled “a grass”, victims of racist abuse fear they will be targeted with escalating abuse and retaliation. They also lack confidence in schools’ ability to tackle the issue.

The authors suggest that reported incidents are only “the tip of a very large iceberg”.

Meanwhile, teachers reported feeling underequipped and unconfident in responding to racism.

Mary van den Heuvel, Senior Policy Officer for the National Education Union Cymru, said: “NEU Cymru is deeply concerned by this report, which mirrors the experience of Black staff, who report a rise in racism in our schools and colleges with both Black students and staff facing varying degrees of racist abuse.

“NEU Cymru believes that all forms of racism must be challenged and that more must be done to support all learners and staff to feel safe and supported to understand and address this behaviour, and to feel valued and listened to in schools.”

Those teachers spoken to during the survey work for the report said they needed more practical and clearer guidance and ongoing support on how to respond.

How robust the report’s conclusions are is open to question.

Welsh secondary schools educate over 175,000 students, of whom 12% come from “Any other ethnic background’ other than ‘White British’.”

That’s 21,000 students, most educated in Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport.

However, researchers spoke only to 170 pupils, less than one per cent of the Welsh total.

In addition, the Commissioner drew on ten children who are members of her office’s existing advisory panel and special interest community ambassador groups.

According to the report, those “were children aged between 11 and 16 and with lived experience of racism who volunteered to join the CYP (Children and Young Persons) steering group.”

One of those participants, who appeared on television news to endorse the report’s findings, is the Youth

Officer for Swansea West Labour Party, whose membership includes the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes MBE.

Whatever issues exist about methodology, there is little doubt that racist abuse occurs in schools in every part of Wales. The scale of the issue in individual schools is likely disproportionate to the number of minority ethnic students. That is, where the number of minority ethnic children is fewest, abuse is more likely to occur.

One student in Pembrokeshire told researchers: “I was called a ‘monkey’ by a student.

“Other students reported it and parents were contacted but she [the student who called her the name] started crying so I didn’t want to make a fuss.”

A group of predominantly White Welsh participants shared that they had not directly experienced racism but had witnessed it, the majority daily.

Their experience included racist slurs in the corridor and people laughing it off. It also included people using a racial slur daily whilst talking about Asian-heritage boys.

One child said: “None of these incidents got reported apart from one. It’s all brushed under the carpet.”
Anecdotally, those incidents do not sound unlikely for Pembrokeshire schools, in which the number of minority ethnic students is comparatively small compared to the rest of Wales.

Problems with how schools tackle racism also feature in a comment by a Pembrokeshire student: “In my school, perpetrators must go to ‘rehab’ where they fill out the equality booklet. I don’t know how seriously they take this.”

Children’s Commission for Wales Rocio Cuifentes said: “There is a need for a whole culture change to support schools to respond more effectively and, more importantly, to help young people and children feel safer and feel confident that their schools will take incidents of racism seriously and something will be done about it.

“There is a real need for a comprehensive approach to dealing with this, rather than at the moment where we have pockets of excellent practice but other schools are really struggling.”

A key differential unexplored by the report is the extent to which racist expressions by children reflect their family, economic and neighbourhood backgrounds or how much those expressions arise from peer pressure and their wish to fit in with their friendship groups.

Absent those voices and that information, tackling the root causes of racism relies on the Welsh Government doing much the same as it is now, but harder and more thoroughly. Changing hearts and minds away from reflexive or learned racism will need much more.

Business

Plaid energy policy challenged by Labour after Adam Price interview

Published

19 hours ago

May 24, 2026

Tom Sinclair

LABOUR SAYS MINISTERS MUST EXPLAIN COST AND TIMETABLE FOR PYLON PLANS

PLAID CYMRU’S approach to energy infrastructure has come under scrutiny after Energy Minister Adam Price was challenged over plans to reduce the use of overhead pylons in Wales.

Mr Price defended the Welsh Government’s position during an appearance on BBC Radio Wales’ Sunday Supplement, arguing that communities must have greater confidence in how major grid projects are handled.

Plaid Cymru has pledged to give communities a stronger voice over energy developments and to look more closely at alternatives to overhead transmission lines, including underground cabling where possible.

The issue has become increasingly sensitive in rural parts of Wales, where proposed pylon routes linked to renewable energy schemes have raised concerns about landscape impact, tourism and local consultation.

However, Welsh Labour said the minister had failed to explain when any restriction on pylons would take effect, or who would pay the additional cost of placing cables underground.

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “Adam Price keeps saying how clear their manifesto was and yet he won’t say when they’re banning pylons. They won’t say who is paying for the extra cost of undergrounding cables.

“Without certainty, companies won’t invest. That’s thousands of clean, green energy jobs at risk. Plaid need more than a plan to have a plan.”

Labour said the Welsh Government must now set out how its policy would work in practice, including whether it amounts to an outright ban, what exemptions would apply, and how any extra costs would be funded.

The debate highlights the challenge facing ministers as Wales seeks to expand renewable energy generation while addressing public opposition to large-scale grid infrastructure.

Community

Pembroke Fair praised as well-organised community event

Published

19 hours ago

May 24, 2026

Tom Sinclair

HORSES, STALLS AND FAMILY CROWDS RETURN TO MONKTON

FAMILIES, horse owners and visitors turned out in force for Pembroke Fair on Saturday (May 23), with many praising the event as one of the best organised in recent years.

Held at the Community Centre Field in Monkton, the annual fair brought together horse owners, traders and local families for a traditional day centred around horses, ponies, stalls and socialising.

Coloured cobs, heavy horses, ponies and horse-drawn traps attracted attention throughout the day, with many visitors gathering around the field to watch the animals being shown and led around the site.

A variety of stalls selling everything from clothing and ornaments to tack and second-hand goods helped create a lively market atmosphere, while food vendors kept visitors fed throughout the day.

Despite overcast conditions at times, the event remained busy, with many attendees staying for several hours to enjoy the traditional fair atmosphere.

Community members later took to social media to praise the smooth running of the event, with several publicly thanking organiser Charlie Price for his efforts in bringing the fair together.

Comments described the day as “well organised” and praised the welcoming atmosphere, with many saying it was encouraging to see a long-standing local tradition continuing to thrive.

The fair once again brought together members of the travelling community, local residents and horse enthusiasts from across west Wales.

A horse drive was also due to take place on Sunday (May 24), continuing the weekend’s celebrations.

Photo captions:

Traditional gathering: Horses, ponies, horse-drawn carts and market stalls drew crowds to Pembroke Fair in Monkton on Saturday (Pic: Herald).

News

Watchdog criticises health board over £10m GP contract checks

Published

2 days ago

May 23, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A HEALTH board has been criticised by Audit Wales after GP contracts worth more than £10m were awarded without sufficient due diligence checks.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board allowed a GP partnership associated with eHarley Street Primary Care Solutions to take on eight GP contracts in south-east Wales, with a combined annual value of around £10.1m.

Audit Wales said the board should have carried out greater scrutiny before approving the arrangements, including checks on financial resilience, workforce plans, business risks and the partnership’s ability to manage several practices at once.

However, the watchdog found no evidence of fraud and noted the board was dealing with significant pressure in general practice, including vacant contracts and limited interest from other bidders.

The report said weaknesses in governance and scrutiny contributed to later disruption and uncertainty for patients and staff when problems emerged.

Concerns included financial and workforce pressures, unpaid invoices, and issues relating to tax and pension payments. Some contracts were later handed back, requiring the health board to step in to protect services.

Natasha Asghar MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Minister for Health and Social Care, said the findings were “deeply concerning”.

She said: “Patients and staff were left facing disruption and uncertainty because proper scrutiny was not carried out before these contracts were awarded.

“The Welsh Conservatives believe lessons must be learned to ensure robust checks are in place, protect frontline services and restore confidence in primary care across Wales.”

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board accepted the recommendations and said it had already strengthened its processes.

Audit Wales said the case highlighted the need for stronger checks before GP contracts are transferred, particularly when a single partnership is taking on multiple practices in a short period.